How the 49ers are Revitalizing the Running Game

Last year, the running game was in shambles.

Sep 11, 2026; Melbourne, AUS; San Francisco 49ers running back Kaelon Black (26) rushes the ball against the Los Angeles Rams in the second half at Melbourne Cricket Ground. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

As impressive as the 2025 season was for the 49ers, they had one surprising issue. It was that they couldn’t run the ball efficiently.

2025 was the worst year of running the ball for Kyle Shanahan since he became the 49ers' head coach in 2017. For a guy who loves to run it all over defenses, it was unacceptable.

Critics of the 49ers’ running game cited Christian McCaffrey as the issue, which may be partially true. He’s not 100% the same explosive player as he was a few seasons ago.

But that wasn’t the root cause; it was the inconsistent blocking on all levels on every play. The offensive line couldn’t string together clean blocking, and neither could the tight ends and the receivers.

It was a joke. That is why, when the 49ers had great success running it against the Rams in Week 1, it felt like they had revitalized it. Their running game never looked like that last season.

And guess how they did it? The entire offense is executing and blocking in unison. 

“I look at it as a unit thing. It's offensive unit success,” said offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak. “I just thought our backs ran really well. I thought our O-Line played very well. I thought our receivers blocked very well. So collectively in the run game, I thought everyone was pretty tied together and played really well. We had games like that last year, but it was inconsistent.”

Even impressive games where the 49ers ran it well against the Atlanta Falcons and the New York Giants weren’t as efficient and clean as they were against the Rams last week. They’ve buttoned up their operation.

Part of that is because they’re healthy. George Kittle was out there, which he wasn’t for a large chunk of 2025. Deebo Samuel is back as well, so there are veterans who know what to do. Even injecting rookie Kaelon Black plays a role.

“I thought there was a good rotation with the backs where I thought either back who touched the ball, to me, they were explosive. They were powerful,” said Kubiak. “I think all those things kind of built up to a good day running the ball. It's just one game. We have to keep getting better and keep pushing our guys so we can try to be that way every week.”

Maybe Week 1 was an outlier performance, and the 49ers will revert to their inconsistencies from last season. But I think they’ve found the right synchronization and formula with Black rotating.

Week 2 against the Miami Dolphins will help cement whether their running game is truly revitalized.

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